From photojournalism to
fine art, the photographer
and Nikon Ambassador
shares her secrets to
seamless evolution in a
competitive industry

by LINDSAY COMSTOCK

Sometimes it’s the unexpected moments that are full of insight. In the late 1970s, fifteen-year-oldRobin Layton was sitting with her mother intheir Richmond, Virginia home, flipping througha National Geographic and marveling at thephotographs. She remembers saying aloudshe would give anything to create images likethe ones she saw in those pages. Her motherturned to her and said, “You know, you can dothat for a living if you want.”A light bulb went off for Layton. Up until thatpoint, she didn’t realize photography could bea viable career. She slammed her hand on themagazine and declared that that was what shewas going to do with her life.

“I didn’t look back,” she says. “I was one ofthe lucky ones who knew what I wanted to doat a young age.”Not long after, she showed up for a guitarlesson and the owner of the music storeasked her what she wanted to be when shegrew up. Without hesitating, she said, “A

National Geographic photographer.” Then,
in a serendipitous moment, the mother of a
student, and the wife of renowned National
Geographic photographer David Alan Harvey,
walked in the door.